Bank of America Corp.’s plans to downsize are raising local concerns, not only about a potential hemorrhage of jobs, but the impact the bank’s retraction could have on the greater San Fernando Valley real estate market. Before Bank of America acquired the troubled Calabasas-based Countrywide Financial Corp. three years ago, real estate brokers fretted that millions of square feet of office space would flood the market. Fears receded when Bank of America acquired the company in 2008 and backfilled much of that space. Today the fear is back. And it’s compounded by the fact that several other office behemoths remain vacant and unsuitable for tenants that aren’t large corporations. Retrofitting the space is often cost prohibitive, especially in today’s tight lending environment. Some area commercial brokers refused to speak about the possibility of layoffs at BofA’s large regional offices and what it could mean for the office market. Bank of America said it doesn’t track local employment data, but the company has thousands of local workers. If the layoffs come, they could hit the market hard, potentially leaving large spaces vacant, especially in the Conejo Valley, where several offices are located. “It would be a significant blow,” said Mike Tingus, president of Lee & Associates-L.A. North/Ventura Inc. In September, the bank announced plans to cut about 30,000 jobs, or about 10 percent of its global workforce, over the next few years. By 2014, the bank hopes to have shaved off $5 billion in annual costs as part of a larger bid to reemerge as a leaner company. In October, the banking giant said it is closing a corresponding lending unit it acquired from Countrywide, preferring to focus on direct lending. That unit employed about 700 in Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village. A bank spokesman said layoffs are expected, but he couldn’t say how many. A notice filed with the state says 50 workers in Agoura Hills will be laid off in November, but it’s unclear if they work for the closing lending unit, will lose their jobs or be retrained. Bank of America did not respond to a request seeking clarification as of press time. Many Bank of America offices are designed to accommodate a single user and the best hope for filling the buildings would be one tenant, Tingus said. Renovating the space to accommodate multiple tenants would be pricey, he said. Just in Simi Valley, the Charlotte, N.C.–based bank owns 745,000 square feet and leases 254,800 square feet, said Brian Gabler, director of economic development for the city of Simi Valley. In Westlake Village, BofA owns 257,000 square feet, said planning director Scott Wolfe. The bank’s mortgage division is also located in Countrywide’s former headquarters in Calabasas, which according to public records, the bank owns and totals more than 300,000 square feet. Bank of America owns about 35 office properties including branches in the greater Valley, according to a public records search conducted by the Old Republic Title Company office in Glendale. Bank of America did not return a request to provide a list of local properties. No decision has been made as to where the 30,000 job cuts will come from and the reductions will be spread out globally, said spokeswoman Colleen Haggerty. Bank of America has been dogged by the bad mortgages it scooped up with the Countrywide purchase. Bank of America reported a $1.1 billion loss in its mortgage unit in the third quarter. Despite those struggles, the bank announced a $6.2 billion profit, although it received $3.6 billion from sales of shares of China Construction Bank. Rick Principe of Westcord Commercial Real Estate Services in Westlake Village said he’s optimistic new companies will move in, if the hammer falls on the Conejo Valley. “Where we may have had a lot of financial companies in the last five or 10 years, now we are getting health care companies coming in,” the chief executive said. It’s too early to speculate what could happen to local real estate or jobs at Bank of America, said Michael Schiff, an executive vice president with NAI Capital. “We don’t know how much is going to come from this area,” Schiff said. Terry Francisco, a Bank of America spokesman, said the company is looking for other jobs within the bank for workers at the shuttering lending arm. However, he said, there will be some layoffs when the unit closes by the end of the year. The bank recently moved about 100 people from a Westlake Village office into new jobs within the same office, he said. But, he said, if jobs can’t be found, “we may just reduce our space requirements in those buildings when it is time for us to renew the lease,” Francisco said.